Liquid-meter.



W.`W. HAMILL.

LIQUID*l METER.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 5.1914. Y

Patented Apr. 3, 1917.

mmm@

Mn/e6?? fray-envo?" W. W. HANIILL.

Llum METER.

APPLICATION` FILED NOV. 5,1914- Patented Apr. 3, 1917.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

jizz/e mg@ Vfl mu/www! W. W. HAMILL.

L'IQUID METER. l

APPLICATloN FILED Nov. 5. 1914.

Patented Apr. 3, 1917.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 3 W. w. HAMILL.

LIQUID METER.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 5. |914.

L2 Ifp l Patenteiprhs; 1917.

4s -s E 4.

y maman.

WILLIAM WILSON HAMILL, -OF GLASGOW, SCOTLAND.

Manin-METER.

Specication.of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr.. 3,' 191i'.

Application filed November 5, 1914. Serial No. 870,494'.

To all lwhom t may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM WILSON HAMILL, a subject of the King of Great Britain and Ireland,I residing at 94 Hope street, Glasgow, Scotland, have invented certain Inew and useful improvements in Liquid- Meters; andi do hereby declare the following to be a'full, clear, and exact description of the invention, suchl as will enablerothers skilled in the art to ,which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to letters or figures of reference marked thereon, which form a part of thisspecification.

This invention relates to apparatus for measuring and indicating the flow of liquids, and is specially suitable for measuring the consumption of liquid fuel by internal combustion engines and liquidfuel burners (e. g., in steam generators).

Liquids have heretofore been measurediby means of vanes, weighted throttle valves and the like'which are arranged to obstruct the flow of the liquid and to be displaced by the momentum of the latter soi as toenlarge the area forthe flow of the liquid. l Such devices are, inmy opinion, unsatisfactory for the purposes for which my invention lis intended, as' they involve difculties as regards standardization and graduation.

The essential feature of my invention is the employment of a movable annular vane which is so constructed and located in or around the path of the liquid that the latter when in motion passes through the said vane and, in doing so, acts on it frictionally so-as to displace it to a degree depending on the frictional force exerted -and hence on the velocity of flow of the liquid.

My invention will be described in the following specification and more particularly l venient form of meter. l 4A A of Fig. 1'.

B B of Fig. 2.

defined inthe annexed claims.

The accompanying drawings 'illustrate' meters vand parts of meters according to my invention. y

Figure 1 1s a front elevation of-qpe con- Fig. 2 is a section of Fig. 3 is a section of the samer-Ton the line Figs. 4 and 5 are respectivelylibngitudinal section and end elevation of a vane such as that employed in the instrulnentfillustrated thel vsame the line native arrangement of cover,

Fig. 14 is a front elevation (with the vane in section) of an alternativeconstruction of moving parts.

Fig. 15 is a section 'on the line C C of Fig. 14. l

Fig. 16 is a sectional View partly in elevation corresponding to Fig. .15 and illustrates an alternative construction.

Fig. 17 is a detail elevation of a modified form of the device illustrating a spring connectionand adjustment.

Fig. 18 is a section on the lineD--D of. Fig. 17. i

JFig. 19 illustrates` an alternative spring adjustment device.

Figs. 20 and 21 are respectively a side elevation partly in section and front elevation of 21m alternative arrangement of index and sca e. 4 i Fig. 22 is a front elevation partly in section on the line E E of Fig. 23 of a meter in which the vanev is arranged to have a straight line movement.

Fig. 23 is a cross section of the same.

Referring to Figs. 1, 2 and 3, a is a Hat cylindrical case closed on one side by the glass lid b. The case includes t'wo cham.-

bers-a main chamber d andan arc-shaped chamber or channel c which v1s concentrlc with the circumference of the case and communicates'at its ends' with the exterior of the case by means 'of ports p, q. Within the main chamber of the case is av wheel lw, the boss h of which is mounted on a pin y pivoted in bearings 7c, 7c within .the case. Within the channel c is a vane lmJ which is supported on the arm g carried by thewhe'el so as to be able to move Within the: channel without touching the sides ofthe latter, the

ictl

-axis of Vrotation of the ,armv being coincident with the center of the circle which forms the axis of the channel. The vane is of annular o r tubular converging-diverging form, its axis coincidingwith the center line of the channel. The pin y carries an index finger n. which is adapted to work over a scale 0 engraved on or attached to the case a.

One end of a spring s isattached tothe I pin y While the other .end is attached to the bridge piece fv, The spring tends to keep the arm, vane, and index in the position in which the index is oppositethe zero pointy on 'the' scale.

The meter is connected up in the path of flow of the liquid which it is'desired to' measure, the liquid being caused to enter the inT strument at the port p and to leave it at the the osition of the index linger is a measure of t e rate of flow ofthe liquid through the instrument.v

' The liquid iows both 'through and around vthe vane, but itis preferred to so construct ber; but the opportunity afforded the liquid I the 4channel and vane that the chief llow of the liquid is through the vane and only a small leakage takes place around the exterior of the vane.

The slit j connects the main chamber dwith the channel c.' The arm g extends through thisv slit. The slit allows liquid to pass from'the channel c to the main chamber d and thus to ll the main chamof short-circuiting through the chamber d is small as, not only is the slit y' verynarrow, but the circumference ofthe Wheel w Alies closely within the surfaces of the case.

A34 is a balance. weight to counterbalance the weight ofthevane.

The instrument can bedrained when'dej's'ired by removing the plug 36. The 'construction' of the vane may be modified as 'may be found desirable to suit `vI "jthequantity,; nature v' or velocity of' the l illidff -to be measure tions are shown in Figs. L1-11.

Various* construci The design shown in Figs. 4 and `5 is of `the same nature as that shownin Figs.' 1-3,

A the proportions onlybeing slightly diiferent. -In the construction shown in Figs .'6 and 7 ribs 2 are formed on the interior of the vane. 1 In the construction shown in Figs. 8 and 9, the interior surface 13 is '5`Toughened. ln the construction shown in Figs. 10 and 11 wire gauze 14 is coiled-up inside the vane.

In Figs. 1 and 2 a glass cover b is shown which is secured to' the case by a ring u which isvscrewed to the case, packing rin s m, m being employed to keep the case Hind tight. Celluloid or other transparent material or combination of materials may be employed in place of glass. (Duplex or composite glass is shown in Fig. 23.)

Fig. 12 shows an alternative construction of cover, two independent sheets of glass b, b being employed, the first held down by the ring u and the second by the ring u.

Fig. 131shows another arrangement, b being a glass cover and a a cover of wire gauze vor the' like.

The'liquid in the main chamber d and in the slit j, by its-frictional dra4 on the wheel 4w and arm g, serves to amp the oscillations of the vane, but special means maybe provided to increase this damping effect.

For example,'in the construction shown in Figs. -14 and 15, -cylindrical bodies 35 are mounted on -arms 36 carried byla sleeve 37 which is mounted on the boss h of the wheel lw'. These bodies bythe friction and eddies they .produce` when moved through the liquid assistin damping the vibrations. Any desired number of dampers may be einployed and these may be of an desired shape and arranged in any desire manner.

These dampers may` advantageously be employed for another purpose, namely to .assist in the support of the rotating parts.

For example, the da pers 35 in Figs. 14

and 15 are hollow and of less specific gravity than the liquid, so thatl they have a buoyant actipn, and wholly or partly `support the' weight of the reducing bearing friction.

An alternative construction is shown 1n Fig. 16 in which'the dampers 36 are directly carried bydthe wheel. A further alternative construction is shown in Figs. 17 and 18 in which the whole wheel is made hollow. A

In the constructions shown in Figs. 14-18 the pointer n is directly attached to the wheel. lThe wheel, pointer, and arm mayl give sufficient damping effect, and 1n the constructions shown in Figs. 17 and 18 no special damping means are rovided.

Means may be providedv or conveniently adjusting the tension of the spring-s. In

Fig. 17 the spring-is attached to a pin 39 eccentrically arranged on a pin 40 which lpasses through the bridge-piece o and has a square end 41 on which is mounted a ratchetwheel 11 with which engages a pawl 12. By .turning the ratchet wheel by hand the spring'can be adjusted.

"An alternative arrangement is shown in Fig. 19. In this case the end of the spring is attached to the pinion 3 which meshes with the toothed segment 4. This segment moving parts so a scale 7.

is pivoted at 5 to the bridge-piece /v and is provided with an index 6 ,which works over A pin 8 which passes'through a slot 9 in the segment is employed to clamp the segment in any desired position. By

means of the segment the pinion 3 can be rotated and the tension ofthe spring consequently adjusted as desired. Moreover, the index 6 indicates the tension of the spring.

Figs. 20 and 21 are respectively a partly sectional side elevation and a lfront elevation of an alternative arrangement of index. ln this case two scales 17 and 18 are employed. The pointer n comes up behind the scales, passes through between them, and is provided in front of the scales with two index lingers 21, 22 which act in conjunction with the scales 17 and 18 respectively. The two scales may be differently graduated. For example, one may indicate gallons per minute and the other liters per minute.

Figs. 22 and 23 show a liquid meter according to my invention in which the movement of the annular vane is arranged to be in a straight line instead of in an arc 'of a circle. rl`he case 23 contains a single chamber o r straight channel 24. Fluid is caused to enter and leave the chamber by the ports p and g respectively. Within the chamber is provided a vane m' which is of substantially the same nature ashereinbefore described and acts in substantially the same manner, except that it is not supported on an arm, but is carried on balls 25 which run in grooves 27 provided in the sides of l the channel. A spring 28 serves to press the vane against that end of the chamber at which liquid enters. The flow of liquid through the channel tends to force the vane toward the other end of thev channel against the action of the spring. A line 29 provided on the vane registers with a` scale or. scales 31, 32 provided on the transparent cover 33 of the instrument; or the scales may be 4engraved lon metal vplates or the .like which are placed inside .or outside the etl cover.

It will be obviou-s that in both types of iinstrument, that is, the swinging vane type and the linear motion type, the design and construction of the instrument may be modified without departing from my invention.

Having thus described my invention what l claimas new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is `1. A meter for the measurement of liquids comprising a case, a channel within said l case adapted for the flow of liquid through it, an annular vane su ported in said channel with its axis coincldent with the axis of the channel whereby the liquid can flow throughthe said vane and by frictional force due tothe flow displace the vane 'axially within said channel, the liquid passage re- 'the vane, means for resisting the displacement of said vane, and means for indicating the displacement of said vane. a

,2. A meter for the measurement of liquids comprising a case divided into two chambers, namely a channel adapted for the flow through it of the liquid to be measured and a main chamber, means to flood the main chamberwith the liquid to be measured, an annular vane supported in said channel with its axis coincident with the axis of the channel whereby the liquid can flow through said vane, and by frictional force due to the flow displace the vane axially within said chan-` nel, means for resisting the displacement of said Vane, a damper attached to said vane and located in said main chamber, and means for indicating the displacement of said vane.

3. A meter for the measurement of liquids comprising a case divided into two chambers, namely a channel adapted for the low through it of the liquid to be measured and a main chamber, means to flood the main annular vane Supported in said channel with its axis coincident with the axis of the channel whereby Athe liquid can flow through said vane, and by frictional force due to theilow displace the vane axially within said channel, means for resisting 4the displacement of said vane, a buoyant damper attached to said vane and of less specific gravity than the liquid to be measured, said damper being located in said main chamber, and means for indicating the displacement of said vane.

4. A meter for the measurement of liquids comprising a case, a channel within said case adapted for the low of liquid through it, an annular vane supported in said channel with its axis coincident with the axis of the channel whereby the liquid can flow throughy the said vane and by frictional force due to the flow displace the vane axially within said channel,`aspring resisting the displacement of the said vane, one end of said spring being connected to said vane, a member attached to the other end of said spring, means for adjusting said member, means for indicating the position of adjustment of said member, and means for indicating the displacement of said vane.

- 5. A meter for the measurement of liquids comprising a case divided into two chambers, namely a channel 'adapted for the flow through it of the liquid to be measured and a main chamber, means to flood the main chamber with the liquid to bemeasured, an annular vane supported in said channel with its axis coincident with the axis of the chanof the said vane, one end of said spring be- In testimony vwhereof I have 'signed my ing connected-to said vane, a member atname to this speciiicati'on in the presence of 10 tached to the other end of said sprin means two subscribing witnesses. for adjusting said member, means or indi- 'WILLIAM WILSON HAMILL eating the position of-adjustment of said member, a ldamper' attached to said vaneand Witnesses: A

located in said main chamber, and means for ROBERT WOLINE,

' indicating the displacement of said vane. JENNY RANKIN. 

